[Archived] City of Alexandria Continues Implementation of Stormwater Utility Fee with New Viewer and Credits Program

For Immediate Release: December 7, 2017

The latest milestones in the implementation of the City of Alexandria’s Stormwater Utility Fee are the availability of a new online fee viewer and the launch of a credits program to recognize stormwater mitigation efforts by nonresidential property owners.

All property owners can now find their estimated 2018 fees on a map viewer available at alexandriava.gov/Stormwater. These fees will be listed on the real estate tax bills mailed to residential and nonresidential property owners in May 2018 for payment by June 15.

The website also provides an application for nonresidential property owners (such as businesses, apartment buildings, houses of worship, and nonprofit organizations) to receive credits that can lower the fees billed. Credits may be available based on structural elements such as catch basins or green infrastructure, or voluntary activities such as litter cleanup.  Applications received with required documentation by February 15 will be considered for credits in 2018.

The City will host an open house to provide information and answer questions about the Stormwater Utility Fee and the requirements for nonresidential credits. The event will be held on January 29, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m., in the large conference room at Beatley Central Library (5005 Duke St.).

The credit program will be expanded in 2019 to include residential property owners. The City will solicit public input on residential credits in spring 2018.

The purpose of the Stormwater Utility Fee, adopted by City Council in 2017 to take effect in 2018, is to provide an equitable, dedicated source to fund the increasing costs of state and federal Chesapeake Bay protection mandates. Single-family residential property owners will be billed flat fees based on the types of property they own. The fees for nonresidential properties will be billed based on each property's total impervious area. Impervious area includes only hard surfaces on which rain falls, and does not include the interior square footage of buildings.

For more information about the Stormwater Utility Fee, the City's Stormwater Management Program, or how residents and businesses can help protect water quality, visit alexandriava.gov/CleanWaterways.

For media inquiries, contact Andrea J. Blackford, Senior Communications Officer, at andrea.blackford@alexandriava.gov or 703.746.3959.

The City of Alexandria is committed to compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, as amended. To request a reasonable accommodation, email geralyn.taylor@alexandriava.gov or call 703.746.4084, Virginia Relay 711.